CHINA: Princess Di is a big draw, but there is no place for her husband, writes Clifford Coonan in Shanghai
Celebrity-mad Chinese can shoot hoops with basketball legend Yao Ming, bend it like Beckham, have breakfast at Tiffany's with Audrey Hepburn and even marry Prince William, with veil and bouquet laid on by China's first Madame Tussauds wax museum.
But a sniffy comment referring to China's leadership as "appalling old waxworks", which the Prince of Wales reportedly made during the Hong Kong handover in 1997, means there's no room for William's dad at the Shanghai museum.
Located on the 10th floor of a plush shopping mall on the city's main shopping street, Nanjing Road, Madame Tussauds Shanghai is the sixth branch of the wax museum worldwide and the first on the Chinese mainland.
The museum is showing 75 exhibits initially, with more planned, and is extremely interactive, with lots of space around the wax figures for people to meet their favourite idols.
With this kind of access to the stars on offer, it's no surprise some of the more popular exhibits have seen a lot of action, such as Hong Kong actor and singer Andy Lau.
"It was a bit messy since visitors got so excited," said one employee. "They want to be close to their icons. As a result Andy Lau's face was scratched a lot and his white shirt became black."
Sun Junpu told local media: "We have to do repair work every day, almost every statue has fingernail scratches left by passionate visitors." The emphasis, unsurprisingly, is on Chinese celebrities and sport stars.
Action star Jackie Chan has pride of place, while sprinter Liu Xiang is also there, as is Olympic diving champ Guo Jingjing, who had to hold her diving pose for two hours while her waxwork was being measured up.
Tom Cruise is also there, looking slightly mournful, perhaps because his movie Mission Impossible 3 has been delayed indefinitely in China amid censor fears about displays of dirty underwear.
Ticket prices are about €10 a go, which makes it pricey for China, but that hasn't deterred 3,500 visitors a day from coming since it opened this month.
Like everywhere else, celebrity culture has taken over the media in China and in the absence of free reporting on politics and other social issues, it is fast becoming an obsession. However, previous reports of hysterical visitors and broken arms and legs are exaggerated.
A particularly popular pursuit is to shoot hoops with Yao Ming, China's basketball legend who is the tallest player in America's National Basketball Association (NBA) at 2.29 metres (7½ feet).
Modellers had to use a ladder to measure him. He looks considerably bigger than Michael Jordan, who stands by admiringly.
Bradgelina get a great showing in the entrance hall, though neither Brad Pitt nor Angelina Jolie are looking at each other.
England football captain David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, are there, as is Ronaldo, while aspiring vocalists can sing along with the popular Hong Kong band, Twins.
In the run-up to the opening, there was a lot of fuss about the decision not to include the Prince of Wales in the line-up. Prince Charles caused a stir last November when published extracts of his handover diary showed him snubbing the Chinese leadership.
However, the museum insisted Charles was left out as the museum aims to cater for local tastes and the prince didn't rate high enough in their market research. Prince Charles is not a major celebrity in China these days.
However, local tastes do extend to his late wife, Diana, who is given a big showing.
Charles certainly features in the Madame Tussauds museum in Hong Kong, but the Shanghai version said it would probably focus more on Chinese political leaders and did plan to introduce a display of them.
Audrey Hepburn is sitting holding a cigarette in the classic pose from Breakfast at Tiffany's, which is hugely popular in China. She was chosen after surveys were conducted in major Chinese cities. The seat opposite her is empty and people line up to get their picture taken.
With temperatures hotting up in balmy Shanghai, attention turns to making sure the waxworks don't melt in the steamy summer heat, which can go as high as 40 degrees Celsius, and to ensuring that the museum has some spare limbs in stock.